Turbine blade skirt

ABSTRACT

The disclosed propeller/turbine blade enhancement will be used in the moving fluid kinetic energy conversion field. This turbine blade skirt enhancement to a propeller/turbine bladed assembly will increase the kinetic energy conversion of the assembly on which the enhancement has been made a part of. The disclosed turbine blade skirt will contact and redirect a portion of the moving fluid the propeller/turbine bladed assembly is converting into mechanical rotational energy. The contacting and redirecting the fluid from the least efficient conversion areas of the assembly to the more efficient conversion areas of the assembly increases the amount of mechanical rotational energy obtained from the assembly.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

N/A

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed propeller/turbine blade assembly enhancement will be usedin the field of kinetic energy conversion. This propeller/turbine bladeskirt will more efficiently convert the kinetic energy of a moving fluidinto mechanical rotational energy when added to the commonpropeller/turbine blade kinetic energy conversion assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

What is needed in the kinetic energy conversion field of moving fluidsis a more efficient blade assembly to convert the moving fluid's kineticenergy into the desired mechanical rotational energy that can then becoupled to rotational shaft driven machinery. That machinery can be anynumber of mechanical rotational shaft driven types. Those machines wouldinclude, but not be limited to, electric generators and mechanicalpumps.

The following disclosed invention will increase the efficiency of apropeller/turbine blade assembly in accomplishing this energy conversionby contacting and redirecting more of the moving fluid outward from thebladed assembly's center area to the more efficient outer areas of thebladed assembly.

Someone who is familiar with a standard propeller/turbine assembly isaware that the blade roots and the assembly's hub section of the commonpropeller/turbine bladed assembly is the least efficient area of theassembly for converting the kinetic energy of the moving fluid intomechanical rotational energy. This is primarily due to the fact that thehub of the assembly is usually flat and perpendicular to the oncomingmoving fluid and thus is inherently an obstruction to the fluid flow.The other inefficient area of energy conversion is the propeller/turbineblade's root sections which are for structural reasons often turnedalmost parallel to the oncoming fluid current and thus do not interactnor convert much of the passing fluid's kinetic energy that contacts theassembly in these areas.

What is needed and disclosed in this invention is an enhancement for thecommon propeller/turbine blade assembly. The turbine blade skirt isdesigned to contact and redirect a portion of the moving fluid outwardfrom the center of the assembly to the more efficient energy conversionarea of the assembly's blades. This redirecting action will then utilizethat portion of the moving fluid that would normally be a negativereactive force in the bladed assembly's kinetic conversion process. Thepropeller/turbine blade skirt will enable the equipped bladed assemblyto convert more of the moving fluid's kinetic energy into mechanicalrotational energy by improved utilization of the center portion of themoving fluid that is contained within the swept blade area of the bladedassembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of a propeller/turbine blade assembly enhancedwith a turbine blade skirt and the common nose cone.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a propeller/turbine blade assembly enhancedwith a turbine blade skirt and the common nose cone.

FIG. 3 is a 3/4 side view of the turbine blade skirt and therelationship with a common nose cone.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the turbine blade skirt and a common nosecone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of one embodiment of a propeller/turbine bladeassembly 1 enhanced with a turbine blade skirt 8 and the common nosecone 2. This drawing shows: the propeller/turbine blade assembly 1, thecommon nose cone 2, the spine curvature line 3, the blade's trailingedge 4, the blade's leading edge 5, the blade's tip 6, the blade'sfrontal facing surface 7, the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, theturbine blade skirt's individual petals 9, the turbine blade skirt'sblade spaces 13 and that this assembly rotates in a counter clock wisedirection.

FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of a propeller/turbine bladeassembly 1 enhanced with a turbine blade skirt 8 and the common nosecone 2. This drawing shows: the propeller/turbine blade assembly 1, thecommon nose cone 2, the spine curvature line 3, the blade's trailingedge 4, the blade's leading edge 5, the blade's tip 6, the blade'sfrontal facing surface 7, the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, theturbine blade skirt's individual petals 9, the bladed assembly's hub 10,the blade's rearward facing surface 11, and that this assembly rotatesin a counter clock wise direction.

FIG. 3 is a ¾ side view of one embodiment of the turbine blade skirt 8and the relationship with a common nose cone 2. This drawing shows: thecommon nose cone 2, the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, the turbineblade skirt's individual petals 9 and the turbine blade spaces 13between the petals and that this assembly rotates in a counter clockwise direction.

FIG. 4 is a front view of one embodiment of the turbine blade skirt 8and a common nose cone 2. This drawing shows: the common nose cone 2,the assembly's turbine blade skirt 8, the turbine blade skirt'sindividual petals 9 and the turbine blade spaces 13 between the petalsand that this assembly rotates in a counter clock wise direction.

What is claimed is:
 1. A turbine blade skirt enhancement to apropeller/turbine blade assembly in which the skirt enhancement contactsand redirects a portion of the center section of a moving fluid currentfrom the center of the bladed assembly towards the outer sections of thebladed assembly.
 2. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein theenhanced propeller/turbine blade assembly is used in the kinetic energyconversion field.
 2. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein theenhanced propeller/turbine assembly will be located and aligned within amoving fluid in such a manner that the assembly will rotate as theresult of being subjected to the kinetic energy contained within saidmoving fluid.
 4. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein thepropeller/turbine blade assembly upon which the turbine skirt is addedshall be comprised of: a plurality of propeller/turbine blades on theassembly's rotational hub.
 5. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, whereinthe propeller/turbine blade assembly upon which the turbine blade skirtis added shall have a rotational hub located coaxially about alongitudinal centerline axis and be connected to a rotational horizontalshaft along the longitudinal centerline axis, wherein the horizontalshaft will convey the rotating assembly's produced mechanical rotationalenergy.
 6. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein thepropeller/turbine assembly on which the turbine blade skirt is addedwill be comprised of multiple blades that have the following features: ablade root that is joinable to the assembly hub, a blade tip, a bladeleading edge extending from said root to said tip, a blade trailing edgeextending from said root to said tip, a blade frontal facing surfaceextending from said blade root to said blade tip and extending betweenthe blade leading edge and the blade trailing edge, a blade rearwardfacing surface extending from said blade root to said blade tip andextending between the blade leading edge and the blade trailing edge andthat an assembly of 8 blades has been disclosed.
 7. A turbine bladeskirt of claim 1, wherein the overall shape of the skirt is circular innature.
 8. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein a common nose conemay be an integral formed part of the turbine blade skirt that is addedto the propeller/turbine bladed assembly.
 9. A turbine blade skirt ofclaim 1, wherein a common nose cone may be added separately from theturbine blade skirt to the propeller/turbine bladed assembly.
 10. Aturbine blade skirt of claim 1, wherein the turbine blade skirt would beplaced under a common nose cone and over a propeller/turbine bladedassembly's hub section.
 11. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in whichthe turbine blade skirt enhancement may be formed with thepropeller/turbine bladed assembly's blades.
 12. A turbine blade skirt ofclaim 1, in which the turbine blade skirt may be constructed separatelyfrom the propeller/turbine assembly's blades and then be affixed to thepropeller/turbine bladed assembly.
 13. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1,in which the turbine blade skirt enhancement shall have petal segmentsthat fit in between the propeller/turbine blades of the bladed assemblyand that these petal segments when joined together form the turbineblade skirt.
 14. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbineblade skirt shall have petal segments that fit in between thepropeller/turbine blades of the bladed assembly and that those segmentsmay be formed, bent or molded in order to channel the moving fluidoutward from the face of the petal segment.
 15. A turbine blade skirt ofclaim 1, in which the shape of the turbine blade skirt enhancement mayvary in; thickness, diameter, blade opening spaces between the petalsegments, petal segments ratio per blade and petal segments spacing. 16.A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in which the turbine blade enhancementmay have petal segments of varied shapes, thicknesses and includedifferent contoured frontal facing surfaces.
 17. A turbine blade skirtof claim 1, in which the turbine blade enhancement may have petalsegments of varied shapes, thicknesses and include different contouredrearward facing surfaces.
 18. A turbine blade skirt of claim 1, in whichthe turbine blade skirt may be constructed of any number of variousmaterials, including but not limited to, various types of; woods,metals, fiberglass, carbon fibers, polymers, molded plastics, ceramicsand or a combination of these items.
 19. A turbine blade skirt of claim1, in which the assembly may be changed to a clockwise rotationalassembly and that in that case; the design of the turbine blade skirtshall be altered in order to assist in the new rotational direction.